Avoid The Pursuit Of Myanmar Soldiers, Three Civilians Died As A Result Of Jumping From The Top Of The Building

Anti-coup protesters walk behind barricades as a fire burns through the Bayint Naung Bridge in Mayangone, Yangon, Myanmar. (BETWEEN PHOTOS/REUTERS/Stringer/AWW/djo)

JAKARTA - Three people died and several others were seriously injured in Myanmar, after jumping from an apartment building in Yangon to escape an army raid, according to media reports.

Since the military toppled Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in February, the country has been plunged into crisis.

Almost every day there were protests and clashes between the army and militia. The incident took place on Tuesday, August 10 in the Botahtaung district of Yangon, the Myanmar Now news portal said, citing residents' testimonies.

The report, which featured a photo of three people lying in an alley, said two other youths had been picked up by ambulances.

Meanwhile, US-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA), said on Facebook that all five people involved in the incident, four men and one woman, had died.

Tin Zaw, the father of a young man who died, said in an interview with RFA that his 27-year-old son had been arrested by the army but was later released.

He said his son before the coup was never interested in politics. But ever since the military took power, he's been trying to fight the junta.

"There's no big organization behind him", said Tin Zaw, who said he was proud of his son.

Soe Myat Thu, the husband of the 29-year-old woman who is believed to have died in the incident, told Reuters he had not yet received his wife's body.

"I am very sad that my wife died. She left a daughter", he said by telephone.

Reuters could not confirm what happened and a military spokesman did not answer the phone when asked for comment.

However, reports of Tuesday's incident have shocked many in the country, which is under global scrutiny for violence and deaths.

Satire images of the incident went viral on social media, one of which featured five silhouettes of people jumping from a building into a sunflower garden.

Myanmar troops have killed at least 965 people in the more than six months since the coup, according to the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP), a Thailand-based activist group.

The military junta has denied the death toll and said many soldiers had also been killed.

The Myanmar Coup. VOI editors continue to monitor the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Civilian casualties continued to fall. Readers can follow news about the Myanmar military coup by tapping this link.